The ancient Egyptians believed that to reach the Afterlife, one had to face many challenges, which required the knowledge of spells, magic formulas, and other information described in funerary texts. In addition to being said aloud during funeral rituals, portions or entire texts were included on scrolls or carved on tomb walls. The Book of the Dead was a collection of these mortuary texts that also featured illustrations of gods and monsters that the deceased would meet on the journey to the Afterlife. Most frequently, the essential prayers were copied onto coffins, such as in the case of Ti-Ameny-Net.
While coffin designs changed through the centuries, much of the imagery remained the same, such as the motif of Nut with outstretched wings. The function of this protective goddess did not change with time, so coffins from many time periods in Egyptian history depict Nut “embracing” the deceased.
Next section: The Science – Ti Ameny Net’s Head and Heart